1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to security related devices for destroying industrial and government proprietary and confidential information and, more particularly, to devices adapted for destroying information contained on compact disc media. Specifically, the present invention relates to devices designed to completely destroy information and data contained on compact discs which devices are quick and convenient to operate while being highly dependable and efficient.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Corporate and government security procedures have long utilized destruction techniques and devices to prevent the unnecessary storage and unauthorized distribution of sensitive or confidential information. Such destruction frequently takes place routinely according to pre-determined time schedules as well as in emergency situations. Previously, incinerators as well as paper shredders of various sizes and speeds have been utilized to destroy government or corporate proprietary and confidential information both routinely as well as during emergency situations, such as during the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran or on board U.S. warships. Unfortunately, the mere volume of such confidential paper documents prohibits an effective emergency destruction process. Moreover, even paper shredders having very fine shredding capability are not entirely effective in preventing the reconstruction of the documents and retrieval of at least some of the information contained therein. This, too, became apparent during the Tehran incident.
With an ever-growing demand for compact disc related products as well as the continuing increase in data storage capacity, of such discs, businesses and government agencies are placing more and more sensitive and corporate-confidential information on compact discs (CD's). While such compact and efficient data storage media has significantly reduced the volume problem associated with prior confidential paper documents as discussed above, such compact disc storage has created problems of its own, such as how to destroy a compact disc or at least the information contained thereon once it has been created.
In response to this ever-increasing media storage form, the Department of Defense (DOD) has issued secure destruction standards for compact disc media. Specifically, DOD requires that when the information-bearing surface (IBS) of a CD is altered to the extent that no exploitable information can be recovered, then the CD is considered securely destroyed. The principal goal of any destruction process for compact discs is to assure that no exploitable information can be recovered from the information-bearing layer of the compact disc. If a destruction process consumes the entire compact disc, the resulting particles can be no larger than 0.25 mm or 250 microns in any dimension. Alternatively, if the destruction process destroys only the information bearing surface layer of the compact disc, then the dimensions of the resulting particulate residue cannot be greater than 0.25 mm or 250 microns, while the remaining polycarbonate substrate layer cannot be greater than 1.05 mm.+-.0.03 mm thick.
To date, the only known device specifically designed to declassify or securely destroy compact discs by removing the information contained thereon is a 50+ pound tower device manufactured and sold by Security Engineered Machinery Company of Westboro, Mass. This device is intended to cut and pulverize entire compact discs and is of sufficient weight and size to prevent easy mobility let alone field use. Moreover, it is electronic and therefore requires a power source to be operative. Thus, there remains a need in the industry for a device which quickly and efficiently removes the information bearing surface of a compact disc in particulate sizes meeting at least DOD's minimum requirements yet retains the base substrate layer with its identification tag in-tact for reuse. Moreover, there is still a requirement for a CD declassification or destruction device which is portable, which can be used without external power, and thus is capable of autonomous field use such as with mobile military units, Naval vessels, aircraft and the like, or when there is a power failure.